Instructional Program Review Update 2012/13 (fields will expand as you type) Section 1 ‐ Program Information 1.0 Name of Program: Business (BUS) / Economics (ECON) Date: 11.29.12 1.1 Program Review Authors: Michael Dennis, Chris Gaines 1.2 Dean’s Signature: Jeff
A. Cummings
Date: 1/24/13 1.3 Individual Program Information # of Degrees # of Certificates 2 # of Courses 3 # of GE Courses 18 4 The shaded cells below are to be populated by the Program Review Committee as needed. # of Full Time Faculty 2010‐2011 # of Part Time Faculty 2011‐12 2010‐2011 # of Staff FTE 2011‐12 2010‐2011 2011‐12 Personnel Budget 2010‐2011 Discretionary Budget 2011‐12 2010‐2011 2011‐12 1.3.1 State briefly how the program functions support the college mission: The degrees and certificates support the transfer education and career‐technical education goals of the College. Our programs partner with the community to contribute to the economic vitality and lifelong learning needs of the College’s service area. 1.3.2 Program highlights/accomplishments: * Assessment activities: The program has met or exceeded the College wide benchmarks for assessment. * CWEE: The program has taken a lead role in reviving Cooperative Work Experience Education at College of the Redwoods. * Revitalized advisory committee: The program has reformed an advisory committee that draws from local business leaders, a former student, and educators from both local high schools and Humboldt State. * Economic fuel winners: Two business plans presented by College of the Redwoods students won $25,000 grand prizes in the Economic Fuel Business Plan competition. Section 2 ‐ Data Analysis 2.1 Enrollment & Fill Rate Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 1 Select your program and click on: Enrollments & fill rates Enrollment X Comment if checked: The Bus/Econ program experienced smaller enrollment declines than the district‐wide averages. Comment if checked: The Bus/Econ program added sections. Enrollments declined by less than the district average, but this Fill Rate X still left the Bus/Econ program with lower filler rates. The Bus/Econ program has many online courses, which display a significantly lower fill rate. 2.2 Success & Retention Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp Select your program and click on: Success & Retention Success X Comment if checked: Success rates are 4% lower than the district wide average. The Bus/Econ program has many online courses, which display a 10‐15% lower success rate. Retention X Comment if checked: Success rates in 2010 were 3% lower than the district wide average. Now they are only 1% lower than the district average. 2.3 Persistence Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp Select your program and click on: Persistence X Comment: Persistence data are missing for several of the degrees and certificates. There is no line for the Business AALA degree. That said, the persistence rates are about 15% below district averages. There are several potential explanations for this: 1) Students may regard Business degrees and certificates as ‘defaults’ when they are not firmly committed to and passionate about Business. 2) Students in Business may be able to more quickly acquire career‐relevant or entrepreneurial skills and thus successfully complete their goals without persisting to a second year at the college. 2.4 Completions Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp Select your program and click on: Completions & Transfers 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 2 X Comment: The General Business Certificate of Achievement displays lower completion/transfer rates than the district wide average for both cohort years. This certificate has already been revised through the curriculum committee to make it shorter and more immediately job‐relevant. The General Business AS degree showed higher completion/transfer rates than the district wide average for the 2007‐2009 cohort. After financial aid and registration forced students to declare a major, the number of declared business majors grew dramatically. Then completion / transfer rates fell below the district, possibly due to a disproportionate number of ‘default’ declarations by students who are not firmly committed to and passionate about Business. For the other degrees and certificates that have significant sample sizes, completion/transfer rates are higher than the district wide averages. Student Equity Group Data 2.5 Enrollments Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp by group Select your program and click on ~ by Student Equity Group next to Enrollments & fill rates Comment: Most of the student equity numbers are consistent with district‐wide averages. Fewer BUS students receive DSPS services than students in other disciplines. Whether this indicates that fewer BUS students need those services, or whether greater outreach is needed, or whether the relatively high proportion of BUS courses which are online drives this is uncertain. Of greater note is that 92% of students have been categorized as “No BSI” in the statistics. This seems to be mostly an artifact of the way the statistic was calculated: it counts as “No BSI” any student who did not take a basic skills class that year, regardless of whether they needed a basic skills class or not. Likewise, when the data report that 0% of BUS students aren’t enrolled in both “Math and English” basic skills classes, this should not be taken to imply that students in BUS classes have adequate college‐readiness. 2.6 Success & Retention Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp by group Select your program and click on ~ by Student Equity Group next to success & retention Comment: African American success rates are significantly lower than the district wide averages; rentention rates are the same as the district wide averages. We would be interested in knowing which particular courses drive this difference. Caucasian and Hispanic success rates are somewhat higher than the district wide averages. Success rates for DSPS students are significantly higher than the district wide averages. 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 3 2.7 Persistence Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp by group Select your program and click on ~ by Student Equity Group next to persistence Comment: Female students were less likely than male students to persist in the General Business certificate, but more likely than male students to persist in the General Business AS. In the Business Liberal Arts degree, persistent rates for males and females were approximately equal. It is difficult to see any coherent pattern here. For most other demographic groups, the cells have too few observations to make reliable comparisons. Additional Indicators 2.8 Faculty Information Review and interpret data by clicking here or going to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp Select your program and click on: Faculty (FT/PT) & FTES/FTEF Comment: FTES per FTEF numbers are essentially the same as district‐wide averages. District‐wide, part‐time faculty do about 50% of the teaching; in the Bus/Econ program part‐time faculty do about 65% of the teaching. 2.9 Labor Market Data (CTE/Occupational programs only) Refer to the California Employment Development Division: http://www.edd.ca.gov/ www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov
Provide a narrative that addresses the following: a. Documentation of labor market demand b. Non‐duplication of other training programs in the region c. Effectiveness as measured by student employment and program completions. Narrative: The February 2007 Targets of Opportunity report identifies several high‐demand and high‐growth areas that our programs currently serve. Examples of areas of opportunity include: Management and Innovation Services, Bookkeeping / Accounting, Marketing, Customer Service / Sales, and Entrepreneurship. Our programs also peripherally support all areas of the Targets of Opportunity report due to the ubiquitous nature of general business and management principles in the operation of any for‐
profit or non‐profit organization. The Targets of Opportunity sectors represent 39% of private sector employment with an employment growth rate of 37% during the period of 1990 ‐ 2004. The total number of firms in the Opportunity sectors grew 23% versus 1.5% for the entire regional economy during the same period. 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 4 Our programs offer unique opportunities to the local labor market. A student can complete a degree or certificate program at CR and re‐enter the workforce in many of the high‐demand areas mentioned above. Our students can also transfer to four‐
year institutions and enter the high‐wage sectors of the economy that require a Bachelor's degree or greater. We are the only program in the community that offers this diversity of educational options. We currently don't have good data to support the employment success of our programs. In response to committee concerns over the lack of data in these areas, the Dean of CTE seeks to use CTEA funding for a pilot labor market outcome study. Overall, what has been the impact of the change in indicators on student achievement and learning: From a low base, the number of students successfully completing and/or transferring has risen. Provide narrative on the factors that may have contributed to the improvement or decline in the identified population: The creation of the AALA degree probably helped create a more flexible and transfer‐relevant pathway for students seeking a four‐year Business degree. Other explanations are more speculative: completions/transfers may be rising due to the difficult state of the economy and Chancellor’s office initiatives aiming to encourage students to quickly complete their program of study. Section 3 – Critical Reflection of Assessment Activities Curriculum & Assessment Data Are all courses on track for complete assessment of all outcomes in two years? Y/N What courses, if any, are not on track with regard to assessment? Explain. # of PLOs Assessed and Reported during the 2011‐2012 academic year. % of Course Outlines of Record updated If there is no plan for updating outdated curriculum, when will you inactivate? View curriculum status: click here or go to: http://www.redwoods.edu/District/IR/Program_Select.asp Select your program and click on: Curriculum Status Assessment Reporting completed? Y/N Program Advisory Committee Met? Y/N 3.0 How has assessment of course level SLO’s led to improvement in student learning (top three): 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 5 Yes N/A 14 100% All except one or two assessment reports that are still in progress. Yes 1) In Business 69, we have required a weekly student peer evaluation instead of an end‐of‐semester peer evaluation. This change has increased the performance of the business plan teams. 2) Our assessment of Business 10 students identified that the New Venture assignment lacked weekly required homework assignments. To keep students on track with this project, we instituted required weekly review which increased the performance and satisfaction of the students. 3) In the online Economics courses, the use of discussion forums for class participation caused student learning to fall below the face‐to‐face sections. In previous semesters, when online chat was used for participation, there was no significant difference between online and face‐to‐
face classes. To increase student engagement and close this gap, the courses have been switched back to online chat. 3.1 How has assessment of program level outcomes led to degree/certificate improvement (top three): We have not been tracking degree/certificate level outcomes long enough to close the loop. 3.2 (Optional) Describe unusual assessment findings/observations that may require further research or institutional support: Section – 4 Evaluation of Previous Plans 4.1 Describe plans/actions identified in the last program review and their current status. What measurable outcomes were achieved due to actions completed. Actions Current Status Outcomes Revitalize Advisory Committee Successful Advisory committee focused on Business‐
specific issues and includes representatives from all stakeholder groups. Complete all assessments Successful Established baseline measurements for student learning. Revise all curriculum Successful Course learning outcomes have been clarified and made more sustainably assessable. 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 6 4.2 (If applicable) Describe how funds provided in support of the plan(s) contributed to program improvement: CTEA provided funds for the advisory committee meeting. Section – 5 Planning 5.0 Program Plans (2012/2013) Based on data analysis, student learning outcomes and program indicators, assessment and review, and your critical reflections, describe the program’s Action Plan for the 2012/13 academic year. If more than one plan, add rows. Include necessary resources. (Only a list of resources is needed here. Provide detailed line item budgets, supporting data or other justifications in the Resource Request). 5.1 Program Plans Action to be taken: Present basic skills data and current program learning outcomes to advisory committee, request guidance on what program learning outcome should be given the current population CR has. Relationship to Institutional Plans Supports Annual Institutional Plan objectives IIV.A and IIV.B Relationship to Assessment Student achievement data has indicated that the College has serious shortfalls on completions and transfers. Making our programs as relevant as possible to employers should increase the value of our programs to students, thus increasing student motivation to complete. Expected Impact on Resources Needed Program/Student Learning Potential revision of PLOs (and None. thus course level SLOs), potential new courses or degrees/certificates, new collaborative opportunities with four year institutions to increase transfer rates. 5.2 Provide any additional information, brief definitions, descriptions, comments, or explanations, if necessary. 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 7 Section 6 ‐ Resource Requests 6.0 Planning Related, Operational, and Personnel Resource Requests. Requests must be submitted with rationale, plan linkage and estimated costs. If requesting full‐time staff, or tenure‐track faculty, submit the appropriate form available at inside.redwoods.edu/ProgramReview Requests will follow the appropriate processes. Check One Amount Recurring Rationale Request $ Cost Y/N Linkage Planning Operational Personnel Tenure track faculty X Y Please see tenure track faculty request form. Section 7‐ Program Review Committee Response Do not type in this section. To be completed by the Program Review Committee following evaluation. 7.0 The response will be forwarded to the author and the supervising Director and Vice President: S.1. Program Information: Satisfactory S.2. Data Analysis: Revised certificate is good evidence of strategy to improve student performance. S.3. Critical Reflection of Assessment Activities: Some classes had no assessment activities, and five BUS courses are out of date through curriculum. It is not clear if those courses are in the process of being updated, and if non‐assessed courses were taught. A more thorough explanation of this section is required. S.4. Evaluation of Previous Plans: Good job acting on previous plans. S.5. Planning: A good tie was made to work with basic skills students and data discoveries. S.6. Resource Requests: Tenure Track Faculty request submitted and link to assessment provided on that form. In the future, PRC requests the same linkage be included in the program review. 21. BusEcon Program Review.docx 4/23/2013 Page 8